Sept 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc shares rose onFriday, touching a record high after the company said somecustomers must wait two to three weeks for the new, slimmer,faster iPhone 5, suggesting strong global demand for thesmartphone that accounts for half of its revenue.

Apple's U.S. store, at http://www.apple.com, was projectingshipments for the iPhone 5 would take two weeks to fulfill, withanalysts saying the date slipped within an hour of the start ofpresales.

The company's website showed buyers in United Kingdom,France and Germany would have to wait as much as three weeks toreceive orders when the iPhone 5 starts shipping next Friday,the first day of deliveries.

"When you do a pre-order, the last thing you want to do isupset customers, so obviously they are overwhelmed with thedemand. No one wants to sell out in an hour."

Apple shares rose 2 percent at mid-day to $696.68 in heavytrading on the Nasdaq. The shares earlier touched an all-timehigh of $696.98.

Apple began taking orders for the iPhone 5 at midnightPacific Time (0700 GMT) on Friday, with shipments set to beginon Sept 21. The smartphone is being rolled out in phases andwill be sold in 100 countries by the end of the year.

It is not unusual for Apple products to sell out the firstday. Orders for the previous iPhone 4S, the last product thecompany introduced before the death of co-founder Steve Jobs,surpassed 1 million in the first 24 hours, beating Apple'sprevious one-day record of 600,000 sales for the iPhone 4.

SUPPLY CRUNCH?

Analysts have expressed surprise at how quickly Appleplanned to roll out the new model around the world, saying thiswas the fastest rollout of the phone since it launched in 2007.On average, Wall Street analysts are forecasting that Apple maysell well over 42 million units by the end of the year.

But some analysts said the early sell-out may also point toa potential supply crunch.

"We believe the fast sell out indicates both high levels ofdemand and constrained supply," said Shannon Cross, analyst withCross Research, an independent research house.

"However, given that the company announced an aggressiverollout schedule, we assume management's plan includes a rapidincrease in production," Cross said.

One of Apple's key suppliers for screens Sharp Corp is struggling with high costs and is scrambling to raise fundsto pay its debts.

The Japanese company, which is the midst of negotiating adeal with Apple's largest contract manufacturer Hon Hai to buy astake in the struggling company, has fallen behind schedule onproduction of screens for Apple's latest iPhone, a source hadtold Reuters in late August.

The source, who is familiar with Sharp's productionoperations, did not give an indication of how far behind theoutput had fallen.